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I’m proud to say that the dirt currently under my fingernails is NOT cocoa or carob powder. Nope, for once, it is actually dirt.
Summer and I spent the morning at a local garden center chatting it up and receiving much assistance from the kind and helpful staff. They helped me pick out some ferns for these urns on our front patio that have been empty for way too long. Practically indestructible I was told..we shall see. 
We then started talking herbs, and I told them all about my dreams of a small garden. Someday, I hope to have something like this..
Kate’s patio garden in wine crates. So fun, no?
However, since I have no green thumb WHATSOEVER, I need to start small. You know, build my confidence up a bit. Behold, HEAB’s herb garden…
They potted some fresh cilantro and basil for me, adding a few flowers leftover from another customer, and I was given precise instructions on how to care for my herbs. I can do this. I will do this.
Melissa told me that herbs make a meal in the summertime, and I have to agree. So simple, yet so flavorful, just like today’s lunch…
Onions, mushrooms, and spinach cooked in ghee with one egg scrambled in and topped with fresh chopped basil, avocado, and wing sauce.
Listening to Ani DiFranco sing Angry Any More and spending the rest of Summer’s afternoon nap Pinning. Bye. 
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks so fresh. I want a garden of my very own too.
http://www.birdietobe.blogspot.com
I just got accepted into Pinterest yesterday! I seriously had no idea the site even existed or what it was til about 3 weeks ago. Then I kept seeing people talk about it so got on the waiting list and voila, i am now a pinner too. Well, I havent done anything (except you and I are friends on there already..lol) but will be pinning things, soon.
Gardening…yay for dirt. I am in the midst of prewriting a post about plants. Great minds think alike
Averie,
Ha, like you and I both need another hobby…especially you! Pinterest is addicting. It will be great for some photography inspiration.
Believing you CAN become a gardener Heather!
Try mint, it really takes care of itself and will come up again next year all on its own. It will spread itself though, so you need somewhere with a bit of space.
Happy gardening!
Lorne,
Oooh, I know the perfect spot for some mint.
Be very careful with mint. I spent 5 summers ripping mint (which has roots to china) out of my garden so that the other herbs wouldn’t be taken over. It’s really considered a weed and grows like one!
be afraid, be very afraid…
love the herb garden pot! And the ferns look beautiful
Thanks Molly. Still hoping to revive my Whole Foods basil. Thinking coffee grounds were a bad idea.
I love the ferns & urns
I too will be planting my little herb garden soon. I had one last year that did very well, and I’m excited to expand it. I would love to plant a few peppers and tomatoes, but my backyard furry friends always find a way to destroy them!
ooohhhh how fun Heather!! gardening seems so awesome, but still so foreign to so many of us! at least to me
Yesss! I love gardening! Speaking of which, I have to plant my tomatoes for some delicious sun-dried tomato yummyness
Our basil plants never last — we get too antsy and excited to make pesto!
They’re uprooted far too quickly. Hehe.
I have hopes and dreams of having a garden this summer, too! Good luck with yours, it looks like it’s off to a good start!!
LOVE the wine crate garden. That’s a great idea!
Love love Ani DiFranco…especially when they play her at yoga.
Kelly,
I do too – used to listen to her all the time, and just heard Angry Anymore yesterday on the radio and got out all my old CD’s.
I have a wine box that a deaf guy from Costco gave me. I couldn’t say no, and I knew it would come in handy for something… I sooooo need to replicate that idea when we move!
Christin,
Totally hitting the Costco wine store from crates next time I’m there.
yay!!! you’ll be so glad these are planted! i’m eating next to my herbs haha: http://thedelicateplace.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/img_3256.jpg
Melissa,
Love it. You’re too cute.
The wine boxes are cute. I can’t wait to garden! I had fresh basil in my salad last night with an over easy egg…definitely a great summer salad! Enjoy your evening Heather.
Good luck with the ferns and the herbs! I am hoping to plant some veggies in pots this weekend — we can’t dig in our yard since we live in a townhome
I hope I have some success with the pots!
Your lunch looks delicious!
Holly,
Happy potting. It will work.
I’ve recently planted tomatoes, hokkaido squash, and red bell peppers. This is my first attempt with gardening, and I hope the plants will grow nicely! I already love them with all my heart, and it feels so good to have to care for. I also have parsley and basil on my window sill. I want to grow cilantro!
Your lunch looks wonderful, and I agree that fresh herb add some twist to every meal.
Great choice of herbs, Heather! Cilantro and basil are two of my favorites!
I love this idea! If only I had a patio…
Someday (soon) maybe, when/if we move to Brooklyn. Good luck with the growing! In CA I grew a tomato plant and actually got 1 or 2 off of it (heirloom!). And we always used to grow basil. It’s hardy – I would forget to water it all the time and it would always revive when I finally did. I miss having a deck!
Maggie,
I’d miss all that CA sun. Didn’t know you guys were thinking of moving to Brooklyn. That’s exciting, and yes, you need a space for some pots!
It’s more of a long-term plan! Not sure when we want to deal with the hassle of moving
woo i want a basil plant, but i’m afraid i have a black thumb too
Elena,
If I can keep basil alive anyone can. Give me one month, & if I haven’t killed it by then, then you should totally go for it!
Avocado and eggs are so good together. Mmm…
Oh my gosh, I feel like I have a celeb following me on pinterest
. Love your boards so far. How totally addicting is that site?
Kim,
Haha – oh my gosh, CANNOT stop pinning. So many new ideas – I could spend all day looking at art, crafts, photos, home ideas…so fun!
Lovely!
sounds addictive too!
I just figured out my moving situation this summer and I will be able to garden this year after all!! I just got my Gardening in Wisconsin book in the mail today. It’s killing me to not sit on my couch and read it, but I keep telling myself to work one more hour….as I sit here reading blogs.
Katie,
Yay – hope you’re able to grow more kabocha!
LOVE the herb garden – it may not be like Kate’s plants in the boxes, but it’s lovely all the same, and will add great flavour to your meals!!!
Roz,
Thank you, and yes it will, including tonight’s dinner.
Looks like my lunch. Except I had 2 eggs, olive oil, and two slices of white rice flour bread. Would have been better with rice in the mix. I use a lot of garlic and herb seasonings. Mrs. Dash sometimes works.
Those ferns are beautiful! I have managed to keep a palm plant alive for quite some time now (indoors) and we bought 2 large palm tree plants last week so I hope to keep them alive. AND I am planting tomatoes and bell peppers for the very first time so we shall see how that works out. I would love to have more veggies but I need to start out small. Mom wants to grow herbs so maybe we’ll get that started this weekend when we visit.
I saw Kate’s wine crates earlier today and thought it was so cool.
I love your baby garden! I really want to grow some more fruits and veggies this summer too.
Lunch sounds great. I just love anything with eggs and spinach
Don’t get discouraged–if you can grow herbs, you can grow anything! I’ve done well with vegetables and I’m even trying strawberries this year, but I always seem to kill my herbs–esp. cilantro and parsley! So, good luck and know that you can do vegetables (even if herbs are a challenge)
Thanks for the encouragement Amanda. I figured herbs would be the easiest. Good to know they’re not!
Thanks so much for highlighting my wine crate container garden! I’m tickled pink (or green?) and will keep posting recipes as my veggies keep popping up.
Kate,
Thanks so much for sharing your cool idea. I really do hope to do something like that soon!
Oh wow! The ferns look perfect! Virtually indestructible, eh? Hmm, that’s because they’ve never met ME! I totally killed two of those suckers last year…though I blame my super short memory span for not giving them enough water!…ugh, speaking of water, I need to water my tomato plant! Eeeek!
I so hope that our next apt/townhouse etc has an area where we can garden I do so love fresh herbs!
ya know, with a name like “Eden” you’d think I’d be a good gardner. Nope, that thumb of mine is pitch black.
ya know, with a name like “Eden” you’d think I’d be a good gardner. Nope, that thumb of mine is pitch black.
Good luck with the garden! I’m envious, as there is literally nowhere in my tiny apartment I could grow anything. Not even a window-ledge! If you want a hardy herb, I saw grow some rosemary. The bush at my parents’ place has been angling for world domination for years
Thanks Hannah. Good to know. I love love LOVE the smell of rosemary, and it’s so good on potatoes!
And with Nigella’s Union Square nuts recipe! That stuff is like crack
I would love to have a veggie/herb garden, but like you, I have no green thumbs. And for now, no place for any plants. My basil died because I really don’t have any light or a nice place for it in my apartment
Good luck with those plants!
next thing you know that little pot is gonna expand into a ginormous garden
and maybe then you can offer some in a giveway!! hehe i kid, i kid.
i bet food tastes THAT much better with fresh herbs. ahhhh..yumm
Anne,
You know I’d send you some fresh herbs if I could, and yes, food tastes so much better with the fresh stuff. Sprinkled both basil and cilantro all over my dinner last night. So yummy!
That’s awesome that you’re getting into gardening; there’s something about being part of the process of growing your own food that seems so wholesome and gratifying. I’d like to learn more about it but haven’t yet ventured into that territory because I do NOT have a green thumb. Thanks for sharing your experience with it
My husband and I are about to buy our first home with a decent sized patio, so I would love to have an herb garden! However, I have never grown anything and have no idea where to start either
Jealous of your herb garden! I want one as well